Murder's Illegal, so Doves
by InsaneLlamas16
Summary: In a world where the notebook turns people into animals, with doves as the default, Light finds himself mistaken for a Kami known as Hachiman within a week, attracting the attention of L. Turning people into doves isn't a crime, so L is pursuing him out of curiosity. Eventually, the two meet, initiating a game of mental chess, a little romance, and there's a house cat. Also on AO3.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Boredom is a terrible thing.

Boredom was this uncontained feeling of no entertainment nor happiness, and as time goes on, it grows more and more frustrating to be bored. And once the frustration sets in, so does the listlessness that only makes boredom all the more irritating. Then when it reaches that point, it becomes exhausting to do the simplest of tasks. After the tiredness, the hysteria and insanity of wanting—no, _needing_ to do something, almost _anything_ to get the boredom off your mind seems to drag you further and further down to the point there is no returning to your old self.

Many think that if you are just bored, this will happen, but it will not happen if you are just a _little_ bored. This happens when you are trapped in endless waves of boredom with no hope of ever swimming out.

A youth by the name of Light Yagami grew bored around the age of six, and it was also around this time he realized just how much better than others he was. He tried explaining his troubles to his parents, but they didn't understand, they never understood their gifted son. All they wanted to hear was from Light was how his grades exceeded well beyond his peers and how he was continuously awarded trophy after trophy and awards after awards.

So Light kept it to himself, hoping that maybe someday he would find another as bored as he, who plastered on a fake smile when asked how he was feeling, and hated the bitter taste in his mouth when he said "fine."

This boredom was what led him to pick up the strange notebook which had fallen out of the sky. He read the front and was confused by the cover.

Fauna Note.

The instructions were in English, too. The human whose name is written in this notebook will become an animal, with the default being doves.

Surely this is a joke. Light had instantly thought, about to put the notebook back, but then he remembered how bored he was and decided to keep it and test it. If it was a joke, then nothing would change, and if it was real, there was no doubt this would be entertaining.

So he tested it. And tested it again. He found that this notebook was legit. Forty seconds, a bright flash, and suddenly there was an animal of his choosing in place of that person. When the book had said doves, Light had instantly thought of the brown turtle doves he saw from time to time, but these were the pure white ones from storybooks. The other animals were a different story, and came in different shapes and sizes, at least that was what he noted from when he turned that entire gang into dogs.

When he met Ryuk, a Kami, he had realized this was finally the friend he had desired, someone as bored as he. All he had to do was satisfy the diety's apple craving. Perhaps it wasn't the most healthy of relationships if Ryuk was only here for amusement and food, but at least Ryuk enjoyed Light's company for who he actually was and not what the world wanted him to be.

While Light wrote in Lind L. Tailor's name and watched him turn into a dove on public television, he laughed at the idea of how people would react. They would see him as a Kami if they didn't already. People had taken to referring to him as the Kami known as Hachiman, the God of war, and the divine protector of Japan and its people, whose symbolic animal and messenger is the dove. Even if there was nothing about Hachiman turning people into doves, that was the general consensus of "close enough" by the world.

So now Japan was lowkey going online to rub it in the faces of other cultures that their God existed. And now, on live television, this would be the icing on the cake. Light hadn't known for sure what he was going to do with this power, but becoming a God overnight was going to certainly be interesting.

Even if the police wanted to get involved, what could they do against someone, who many thought was a God, and technically turning people into doves wasn't a crime, but it still bettered the world. Light made a mental note to start subtly turning other people into endangered species to begin bringing those back. He wondered if he could resurrect extinct species this way, but decided he would test it with something small first to avoid detection.

When the real L tried to challenge him, Light laughed,

"You can try, L. I am a God now—you will bend to my will!" He continued to laugh, the pure insanity of the fact his superpower, of all the weird superpowers, had managed to make him achieve godhood within a week. As obscure as the power to turn people into doves was, he couldn't help but be thankful to the universe for giving him this. It didn't go against his morals and was just so hilarious he was pretty sure he would never be bored again.

Suddenly, this crushing weight was off his chest, and he realized. He was a God to these people with L has his only rival. What the hell was he going to do now?

He decided to reread the rules of this notebook and debate what animal this real L would become because he almost wanted to give his new nemesis something special.

...

Of all the weird cases L had taken in his detective years, a person who had the power to turn people into doves and was mistaken for a Kami took the cake by a considerable margin. And because cake theft was the worst crime, L had instantly jumped on this case.

But having watched with his own eyes as his stand-in was turned into a white dove, his eyes and brain disconnected a bit. If this had been killing someone without being there, it would be strange, but something about the fact it was doves of all things made this just too bizarre for him to instantly wrap his head around.

He also realized another issue. What would happen even if he did catch this Hachiman person? Not only would the Japanese population go into outrage if they actually believed this was a Kami, but turning people into doves wasn't a crime. It couldn't be counted as anything L could think of. It was so unusual and out of the ordinary that nobody had ever thought, "Hey, let's make a law against turning people into birds."

There was a chance, he supposed, that this actually was a Kami. But that was in no way going to dissuade L from taking this case. On the contrary, that idea made him even more excited even if he knew that was probably not the case. Even if this wasn't a crime, they lived in a day and age where the world would want to see how this happened, and confirm or deny the existence of Gods. So L was still given free rein to do what he wanted to find Hachiman.

As he scanned reports and more videos from prison security of people turning to doves—the poor people in charge of keeping prisons clean—L grew so excited he was almost shaking. Boredom was a wretched thing, and this was, without a doubt, whether Hachiman was a real Kami or not, going to be incredibly interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

L relaxed in his room on his side of the camera, only half-listening to the victim reports as this was all information he already knew. He focused more on reading through countless books and articles about Japanese Kamis to learn about the culture. He would need to be careful if he would be working with the Japanese police to catch Hachiman, so he needed to grasp their beliefs. If this was a new Kami created, this wouldn't be as big of a problem for saying it was a false god, but not if this person had been given an established Kami alias.

Kami were spirits, phenomena, or "holy powers" venerated in the religion of Shinto. They could be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, and beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the spirits of the revered deceased.

The ancestors of a particular family could also be worshipped as Kami. In this sense, these Kami were honored not because of godly powers, but because of a distinctive quality or virtue. These Kami were celebrated regionally, and several miniature shrines have been built in their honor. In many cases, people who once lived are thus revered.

The Kami are both worshipped and respected within the Shinto religion. The text said that many Shinto believers' goal of life was to obtain magokoro, a pure, sincere heart that can only be granted by the Kami. As a result, Shinto followers were taught that humankind should venerate both the living and the nonliving because both possess a divine superior spirit within the Kami.

This was interesting to note, and L turned to another article regarding Hachiman specifically.

Since ancient times Hachiman was worshiped by peasants as a god of agriculture and fishermen who hoped he would fill their nets with much fish. In Shinto, he became identified by legend as the Emperor Ōjin, son of Empress Jingū. Both were thought to have been avatars of Hachiman such were their great feats in warfare and culture in general—Jingu for invading Korea, and Ojin for inviting Chinese and Korean scholars to Japan.

All of this lined up with what L could piece together about the Hachiman he was dealing with, and he looked up, hearing about the times of these animal changes. Some scientists had managed to capture a couple doves and were trying to test on them to see if they retained a human mind, and for the sake of the people, L hoped they lost that humanity so they wouldn't need to recall being human and losing it all. He pressed a button, deciding to speak upon it,

"That information is extremely relevant for us. It suggests that, given the times, our suspect could very well be a student. Based on the fact that Hachiman is only doing this to criminals, I think it's safe to assume that he is driven by a very idealistic notion of justice. We're dealing with the individual who has a very childish concept of right and wrong. Of course, this is mere speculation at this point, but I still recommend you re-examine any assumptions you've made as to whether or not our suspect could be a student. We must consider every possibility. I believe that's the shortest route to finding Hachiman and discovering how this is done. Please, continue with your report."

L doubted this was the actual Kami. However, knowing about the tales made it easier to identify what kind of moves Hachiman might make. Agriculture... war... these doves, which also meant peace in some cultures...

He listened to the report and cut in again, "Thank you, everyone. I feel we're one step closer to finding Hachiman. Before I go, I'm afraid I have one additional request to make. This is directed to the teams investigating the victims, TV news, and the internet: I would like you to go back and take a closer look at the exact way in which the victims' identities were made public. Be as thorough as possible. In particular, I want to know if photos of the victims were made available to the public in Japan. I'll leave it to you."

He hung up, and L looked again at the data, his eyes widening slightly as he came to a conclusion.

Was this Hachiman trying to create a completely new world?

OoOoO

After dinner, Light finished up his hacking on the home network to get his hands on the case information, and he frowned a bit as he took a sip from his coffee.

The first thing he found was the police contemplating if they could even accuse him of any crimes due to the fact turning people into doves wasn't a crime and anyone who tried to make it so would be put in the nuthouse. So far, all the police had as ideas were unethical nonconsensual human experimentation, assault, and grievous bodily harm. Light supposed the first one was technically correct for the first couple, but he wasn't exactly experimenting anymore. The other two maybe, but seeing as he never got near his victim's, a judge would take such accusations with a grain of salt.

The second thing he noticed was much more interesting, "Well, isn't that interesting? Looks like the police are already beginning to suspect a student."

Ryuk laughed, lounging on Light's bed with his kimono splayed out in some areas, revealing the dark teal baggy pants underneath black robes, "I guess that means you are in trouble."

Light bit his lip as he thought for a moment, then he turned to Ryuk with a small smile, "If the specific animal is written within forty seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen. If the animal is not specified, the person will simply become a dove. After writing the animal, details of what happens beforehand should be written in the next six minutes and forty seconds. That sounds right to you, Ryuk?"

"So, what's your point?"

"In other words, if I write doves, then I should be able to write down all the details, including the time it happens, shouldn't I?" He noticed the moment Ryuk caught on, "Looks like I will be able to provide you with more entertainment now."

OoOoO

L assessed the new data. For the last two days, Hachiman had been changing the pattern of these transformations, one person every hour on the hour.

It did appear less likely now that Hachiman was a student, but turn that on its head, and something else made itself clear. Hachiman was directly challenging L at the moment, which was proven by only doing this to criminals in prisons to be discovered immediately.

Hachiman was telling him that not only can he use his power from a distance, but he can also determine the time. But something still wasn't right.

As soon as he began to suspect that Hachiman might be a student, the pacing changed as if to contradict that theory. Coincidence? No. It was just too convenient. Hachiman could just be experimenting since he hadn't been doing this for long, but it still didn't sit right.

This could mean one thing. Hachiman had access to police information, and he was probably a student.

_It's obvious now. This is a direct challenge to me._

L chuckled a bit as he turned to the monitors, where everything was going according to plan as he watched a few officers resign from this case. After all, that was to be expected, and soon he would have his small team ready to fight for the right thing...

Or a bunch of officers who really hated their lives and were okay with spending the rest of it as a dove.

God, L hoped it wasn't the latter.

OoOoO

After cram school, Light walked home with Ryuk flying behind him, and he felt the Kami's hand on his shoulder,

"Light, you got a second?"

"I've already told you, Ryuk," he muttered, "You can't talk to me in public. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"In that case, I'll talk, you just listen. If you don't want to hear me, you can plug your ears or something. First of all, I don't have anything against you. I actually think the notebook couldn't have been picked up by a better person. I'm here 'cause I have to stick around until you're finished, be it with the notebook, or life, whichever comes first. But make no mistake, Light, I'm not on your side or L's side.

"Yeah. Well, I knew that much already."

"You'll never hear me say anything about whether what you're doing is right or wrong. I'm not here to support you or give you my opinion. I'm just a spectator... but as your roommate, I might have a few things to say now and then."

"What's this about, Ryuk? Why are you telling me all this stuff now, anyway? It's really not like you."

"It's just that I'm no ally of yours, or Hachiman's if you prefer. The only reason I'm going to tell you this is because, personally, it is starting to creep me out."

"Get to the point already."

Ryuk lowered himself down to the ground, his lips so close to Light's ear that he could almost feel it, and that sent shivers up his spine. Whether it was in spite of or because of how human Ryuk looked most of the time when not shapeshifting for fun, Light didn't know,

"You are being followed by another human. He's watching you right now. It's really starting to get on my nerves." Ryuk backed up slightly and moved to stand in front of a now-frozen Light, pointing behind him, "I realize there's no way he can see me, but because I'm always following you wherever you go, I feel like I'm constantly being watched."

Light turned a bit, seeing for a second, someone in a black trench coat following and then slipping behind a building. He could go over there and ask what the hell the guy was doing in hopes of making him go away. He could also call his father. But any action taken before he had enough info could get him seriously hurt or even killed. "That's a problem," he whispered, "I'll have to get rid of him as soon as possible."

As he hurried home a little faster despite himself, suddenly aware of every shadow as he walked, he found himself thinking and trying to distract him from the primal desire to run as fast as he could and get as far away from this stalker as possible.

_Who would be following me? Does this mean L is already starting to suspect the police? If he's gonna investigate the police, he'll need a lot of resources and manpower. Even if he has as many as fifty people on the case, I don't see how they could ever figure out that I'm Hachiman. I shouldn't look like anything other than your average high school senior. But the longer I let this person keep following me, the greater the chance is they'll figure out who I really am. Above all, I need my stalker's name. Once I figure that out, I can get rid of him for good._

Ryuk munched on an apple, leaning against the wall, "Light, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. What makes a Kami and a human who has the notebook different? Well, there are multiple things, even if I can look as human as you. And why do Kami write the names of humans in their Fauna Notes? You got any ideas?"

"Of course not. Why would I know that?" Light snapped, "You know, you sure are talkative today."

"We do it to maintain the natural order, the balance between overpopulation and extinction. As long as manmade inventions do not destroy the world and leave humans as the only species, a Kami can live forever. But there are different ways to go about this, as Kami are of two minds. They can nurture and love when respected, or they can cause destruction and disharmony when disregarded. Kami must be appeased to gain their favor and avoid their wrath. Traditionally, Kami possesses two souls, one gentle and the other assertive. Some Kami even have two additional hidden souls: one happy and one mysterious. You can guess what kind of Kami I am."

Light stared at Ryuk long and hard, trying to figure out if he was serious or not, and he eventually pointed to Ryuk's forehead, "What about that crown on your head?"

"Oh? This?" he gently put his fingers to the almost tiara sitting in his dark hair, with the rest residing a little higher on his forehead. The material was mostly what seemed to be silver wiring, but in the center was a blue topaz in the shape of a water droplet held in place by the wires. The gem had many times now glowed slightly, and Light had wanted to ask about it for a while,

"Yeah, what would happen if a human had that?"

"I don't know." Ryuk shrugged, "For a Kami, it protects from others' magic, but I have no idea what it would do for a human. There is only one way for a human to get it, and I have never seen nor heard of it actually happening."

Light smirked, leaning forward a bit, "How would a human get it?" Ryuk turned with a look of amusement instead of irritation or anger,

"Don't get any ideas, Light." He laughed, "From what I know, the damn tiara wouldn't help you anyway. To get this, a human would need to be the victim of an already dying Kami."

"The victim of a dying Kami...? "

"I have no idea how that would be possible since I have no idea how to even kill a Kami." Ryuk elaborated, "I know it happens, but I don't know specifically how."

Light grinned, "That's something about Kami that I haven't heard before. Pretty interesting stuff."

Ryuk smirked, "The other differences between us will probably be of even greater interest to you. Such as the ability to grant magokoro, which could get you a lot of followers, but if they were to learn you're only human and cannot grant it, they could turn on you."

"Well, hopefully, I won't need to worry about that," Light replied, "Anything else?"

"One more thing," Ryuk answered, "Well, besides the obvious." He leaned forward in Light's face, suddenly taking the physical form of Light, only with his normal Kami clothes, and the eyes were white and reflecting, like pearls, "Kami can tell what the person's name is by just looking at their face. We know instantly. And do you have any idea why? Because through a Kami's eyes, a human's name can be seen above their head. Not only that, we see their lifespan as well."

"Their name and lifespan?" Light backed up slightly, seeing his own face with those eyes which were both beautiful and haunting. Then Ryuk turned back to his regular human form, hair and eyes darkening right before Light's eyes, and he nodded,

"That's right. I'm able to see your name and lifespan right now. If I converted that to human time, I could tell you how many years you got left. But there's no way I'd ever tell you that. I may have a big mouth, but even I wouldn't go that far." He laughed, "Our eyes just aren't the same, and that is the difference between you and me. However, if a Kami drops his notebook and a human picks it up, he can grant that human the eyes of a Kami, but only if a deal is made, one that has been with us since ancient times."

Light's interest was far beyond piqued and what he was learning, "And, what's the deal?"

"The price for having a Kami's eyes…is the price of equal exchange." He proceeded to clarify, "To gain the eyes, someone else may lose anything from their vision to their life, depending on the value those eyes have. For you, Light, someone dear to you would be sacrificed for that power."

Light tried not to think about that for a moment and asked, "Why does it vary?"

"Let's put it this way. Why do you want the eyes?" Ryuk opened the curtain and balcony door, and Light walked out to avoid suspicion, looking out as Ryuk flew down towards where the man following him was badly hidden. He laughed, "To find your stalker's name," he came back up, flying circles around Light, "And all of it boils down to at this moment wanting to save your own life. This could change later, but I don't see it doing so as long as L's in the picture. To protect your life, which is important to you, you will have to sacrifice the life of someone else you hold dear."

Light went back inside, closing the door and curtain, "And if there is nobody of equal value?"

"Then, the price will take any means necessary to become equal. If you're asking if the price could kill your entire family, then yes, I suppose it could if you're that self-centered, and the cost is that extreme."

"I see." Light looked back to the window behind the curtains, "And since you've made it clear you're not on anyone's side, you won't help me out. You wouldn't just give me the names of people I want rid of. Basically, you're saying that I can't simply borrow your powers. I'd have to pay for them."

"That's right. It's a key part of the code that all Kami are bound by. I'll say this once more. Sacrifice someone you hold dear, and I'll give you the eyes."

Light scoffed, "Here I would have thought you would just exchange for my soul," to which Ryuk shrugged in response,

"That would actually be the deal for most people, but you value your soul so little that you were ready to give it to me the second I appeared before you. Such a price wouldn't be satisfactory at all."

For a moment, Light thought about it, "If I agree, I'll know everyone's name just by looking at them. If I had that power, the notebook would only be easier to use." It was incredible power, but would he sacrifice someone he cared about... who was he kidding? He knew exactly who the sacrifice would be. This wasn't like the notebook and just doves and other animal transformations. This would be him actually condemning the one he cared about more than anything to death for his own gain.

Could he sacrifice his father for this power?

"So, what'll it be, Light? Is it a deal?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

While Light was silent for a few moments, it was more to mess with Ryuk than any actual moral debate. He narrowed his eyes, "This deal is out of the question."

Ryuk seemed genuinely taken aback, "Huh?"

He crossed his arms and gave the Kami a condescending expression, "Let's get this straight. My plan is to create an ideal new world free from evil and all criminals, and part of the reason I'm doing this is because I want to have a relationship with my father for longer than a few minutes between sleep and work. Killing him defeats the purpose."

"I thought you were doing this because you're bored."

Light scoffed, "That too, but still, killing my father seems a little extreme when dealing with a minor annoyance." He got up and looked out the window, "Man, my stalker is bad at hiding. I have half a mind to go up to him and let him know he's doing a terrible job."

Ryuk laughed, coming over, "You didn't notice him before."

"I didn't think I'd be tailed so early on. I can deal with him easily in ways that don't involve sacrifices and doves."

Ryuk shrugged, "That's fair, but I've done my part. I don't need you complaining I didn't tell you this earlier on."

"This is what you call telling me early on?! Doncha think you're a little late?" He put his hands on his hips, "I don't see why you couldn't have told me this when we met. Or better yet, you could've simply included it in the instructions for the notebook."

"Uh, good point." He grinned a bit, seeming almost impressed, "Of course, you're quite the peculiar human, so if I put in the default price, you'd give me crap about lying when I pointed out the price changes for you."

Light rolled his eyes, grabbing the notebook and heading over to his bed, "Well, you sure there's nothing else you want to tell me 'ahead of time?'" He laid down, staring at the ceiling, and Ryuk sat in a crisscross position while floating a few feet off the ground,

"No, nothing else..." in a quiet voice, he added, "Eh, probably."

Deciding to test what that 'probably' meant, Light sighed, "Really? That's too bad."

"Whaddya mean?"

He opened his eyes, turning lazily to Ryuk, "Changing the price around a bit would make things interesting for both of us, like wings for my firstborn. Just the idea of flying 'round freely in the sky sounds very god-like. After all, it's been mankind's dream since antiquity to be able to fly."

"You really think I would pull that Rumpelstiltskin crap? Besides, you'd stand out if you sprouted wings and flew around. Not to mention, the police would have no trouble finding you."

Light rolled his eyes, "I was only joking. Besides, I'm just a human using this notebook to make the world a better place for humans and a more interesting place overall." He flipped through the rules absently, seeing if there was anything he had missed. Even if his stalker could be disposed of easily, he was still a nuisance. His eyes settled on one and grinned,

"That's it. I got it."

"Got what? What's this about?"

"An alibi," Light replied and perked up when he heard the door downstairs open, and he left his lamp on, checking to make sure his stalker was still there and just as badly hidden. He was.

He hid the notebook and headed downstairs and sighed with relief when he noticed his father home and smiled shakily, "I'm surprised you're still up, Light."

"Yeah..." Light rubbed the back of his neck, making a show of acting timid, "Dad, I know I shouldn't be bothering you... but something's been going on, and I think I need your help. Do you mind?"

"Light, I'll always help you if you need it. What is it?" Light gestured upstairs and into his room, showing his father his stalker from the window,

"This guy's been following me for the last few days and staying until I turn off my lamp. I think he tried to get to my balcony last night." He looked down, feigning shame, "I know I should probably handle it myself if I'm going to be an officer—"

"No," his father put his hands on Light's shoulders, "Listen to me, Light. You did the right thing in telling me. If it was a classmate, I trust you to take care of it, but this isn't a teenager. I'll deal with it." He left with clear anger in his eyes.

Light watched with sadistic glee as he watched his father storm outside and begin shouting at this person, and he was surprised to see a fight almost break out before his father won and shoved the man into his car, and then drove away.

That probably wasn't police protocol, but Light did know that his father didn't always act rationally when his family's safety was on the line. He giggled a bit, waiting at the computer and waiting for the report of this person's name to come up.

Ryuk was cackling, "Now I see why you wouldn't kill your father. That was amazing."

Light continued to wait, and after an hour and quickly becoming tired, he was surprised to discover that not only did the name come up, it was under the Hachiman case. Raye Penber, FBI agent.

So I was right.

Well, there were easy ways to handle this now that he knew what he was dealing with, and his little experiments would prove to make this even easier.

He yawned and realized he had already stayed up later than he usually would, meaning he would probably need some coffee in the morning. The FBI was something to worry about later. It wasn't any concern to him. Besides, he would have to wait to act on this information, until the entire task force knew about the FBI, to keep as much suspicion off him as possible. He knew his father would never specify how exactly he found out about Raye, but there was no doubt L would know it was the Yagami family.

It had been a risky move, but he could decrease the damage done if he was patient.

As he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but imagine what kind of hell his father was going to put L through.

OoOoO

L groaned, hearing the outrage of the task force, and people quitting already. And if this crap week couldn't get any worse, Hachiman had started a new pattern over the last few days. Then a few hours ago, he heard the FBI was quitting altogether because they had gotten news that Hachiman had the information to turn the entire team into doves.

As infuriating as it was to hear that, the head of the FBI saying with a straight face and dead-serious tone that he didn't want his men turned into doves almost sent him into peels of laughter. He knew it was serious, but it was extremely hard to take seriously.

He laid on the floor in his hotel room, contemplating what had recently happened. Obviously, someone in the Yagami family tipped off Soichiro to the situation. From what he knew about them from superficial research, it was most likely either the wife or the daughter said something since the son just... there was something about that young man that made him want to look further into him.

So it was likely either Sachiko or Sayu Yagami pointed it out. From the very specific note in the file about Raye Penber being terrible at tailing people, he couldn't help but wonder what Naomi saw in the man since he had done a little digging into Raye Penber because what idiot gets himself caught while on a stealth mission.

Yet his gut feeling told him there was a chance the son had done it to subvert expectations. From the files he had gotten from Raye, Light Yagami was a normal high schooler, if not more focused on his studies than most kids his age, but that made sense given all the rewards the kid had. He was supposedly clear.

He shook that feeling off. When had his gut feeling failed him before? He would look into the idea Light was the one who tipped off his father. But what did that mean for the investigation? If someone was being followed for days by someone clearly older than them, anyone would be creeped out. It was perfectly reasonable in that situation for Light to ask his police officer father for help. If anything, it may have actually been more suspicious if Light proved to have known about being followed and _hadn't_ asked for help.

He hadn't realized he tuned out the complaining task force until he turned and noticed there were only six people left. Damn, that was fast. He had expected that to happen, but not so soon.

Well, this did mean he would have to show his face to them to capture Hachiman. He groaned a bit at the idea but typed out the instructions and the address, waiting to see how many more people would leave before arriving at the hotel.

Instructions give, L got up and looked out the window at the city below, absently popping his knuckles as he looked up at the stars and noticed a few birds fly across the moon. How many of them had once been human? Were these people who had been turned aware of what happened? He didn't want to find out firsthand.

Hachiman, it seems we're getting closer to each other in equal steps. It's only a matter of time before we collide. So be it. I'm ready to show my face. I'll make my first public appearance as L. If you ever manage to find out about these secret meetings, I'm sure you'd feel compelled to move in. That's what I'm counting on.

After a while, he heard the knock on the door, signaling the arrival of the task force, "It's open!" he called, taking a deep breath and ready to begin the real battle.


End file.
